Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<p>SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea&#x27;s Constitutional Court dismissed the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Monday, reinstating him as acting president -- a role he took after the president was suspended for declaring martial law.</p><p>The court ruling is the latest development in South Korea&#x27;s complex and sprawling political crisis, which President Yoon Suk Yeol started with a short-lived attempt to subvert civilian rule in December.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/2/25/south-koreas-yoon-faces-last-impeachment-hearing-over-martial-law-1432">South Korea&#x27;s Yoon faces last impeachment hearing over martial law</a></div><p>Lawmakers defied armed soldiers at parliament to vote down Yoon&#x27;s December 3 martial law declaration and impeached him soon after, with Han stepping in as acting president.</p><p>But he was himself impeached by lawmakers just weeks later over his purported involvement in the martial law debacle, plus a dispute over judicial appointments.</p><p>&quot;The Constitutional Court has rendered a decision to reject the impeachment trial request against Prime Minister Han Duck-soo,&quot; the court said Monday in a statement.</p><p>The court ruled 5 to 1 against Prime Minister Han&#x27;s impeachment, with two judges arguing that the case should not have made it to court as lawmakers did not have a super majority to impeach Han in the first place.</p><p>Han&#x27;s actions while in office &quot;cannot be seen as constituting a betrayal of the people&#x27;s trust indirectly granted through the President&quot; the court rules.</p><p>The decision is effective immediately and cannot be appealed.</p><p>Han, who immediately resumed the acting presidency Monday, thanked the Constitutional Court for its &quot;wise decision&quot;.</p><p>&quot;I believe that all citizens are clearly speaking out against the highly polarized political sphere. I think there is no place for division now. Our country&#x27;s priority is to move forward,&quot; he added.</p><div><strong>YOON IMPEACHMENT RULING </strong></div><p>The court&#x27;s decision was closely watched as it comes ahead of a highly anticipated ruling on suspended President Yoon&#x27;s impeachment, the date of which has not yet been announced.</p><p>Despite experts predicting a verdict on that case by mid-March, the Constitutional Court has yet to rule, making Yoon&#x27;s case the longest deliberation in its history.</p><p>If Yoon&#x27;s impeachment is upheld, South Korea must hold fresh elections within 60 days of the verdict.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2025/3/7/s-korea-s-impeached-president-yoon-released-from-detention-after-court-ruling-yonhap-1340">S. Korea&#x27;s impeached President Yoon released from detention after court ruling: Yonhap</a></div><p>Monday&#x27;s ruling &quot;does not have a direct legal correlation with the pending decision on Yoon&#x27;s impeachment,&quot; Yoo Jung-hoon, attorney and political commentator told AFP.</p><p>&quot;The judges did not deliberate on the legality of martial law but rather on Han&#x27;s involvement in the case,&quot; he said.</p><p>Yoon was suspended by parliament in December.</p><p>He was arrested in January in a dawn raid in connection to a separate criminal investigation on insurrection charges -- which are not covered by presidential immunity.</p><p>He is the first sitting South Korean president to stand trial in a criminal case.</p><p>He was released from detention in early March on procedural grounds -- a move that has appeared to invigorate his supporters.</p><p>Hundreds of thousands of South Koreans took to the streets over the weekend, as rallies for and against Yoon intensified ahead of the court verdict.</p><p>Yoon&#x27;s ruling People Power Party lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong told reporters at the National Assembly that Han&#x27;s reinstatement was welcome.</p><p>The opposition who impeached him should &quot;apologize to the people for paralysing state affairs for 87 days with a hasty impeachment bid,&quot; which was done for political purposes, Kweon added.</p><p>South Korea&#x27;s presidential office welcomed Han&#x27;s reinstatement.</p><p>&quot;Today&#x27;s decision reaffirms that excessive impeachments by the National Assembly are reckless and malicious political offensives,&quot; the office said in a press notice.</p><p>&quot;We hope that acting President Han&#x27;s return to duty marks the beginning of a return to normal governance.&quot;</p><div><strong>—By Hailey Jo, Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><strong>RELATED  VIDEO</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3Q4zFobUSWI?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>The court ruling is the latest development in South Korea's complex and sprawling political crisis that tarted with a short-lived attempt to subvert civilian rule in December.</p>

The court ruling is the latest development in South Korea's complex and sprawling political crisis that tarted with a short-lived attempt to subvert civilian rule in December.

South Korea reinstates impeached PM Han as acting president

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South Korea reinstates impeached PM Han as acting president

Agence France-Presse

Published Mar 24, 2025 12:39 PM PHT

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Updated Mar 24, 2025 01:51 PM PHT

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